Educating About the Blues
Castro “Mr. Sipp” Coleman, a blues and gospel musician from Mississippi, will headline the Blues and Brews Festival.
Annual festival highlights the sounds of a heritage genre BY LAURA LATZKO For the last 35 years, Tucson’s Blues and Brews Festival has been sharing and cultivating a love of blues music in the city. Put on by the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation, the festival will take place on Saturday, March 28, at Gene C. Reid Park. Along with blues music throughout the day, the festival will have craft and domestic beers and wine and barbecue, Mexican and Thai food trucks. VIP tickets come with added perks such as access to a shaded area and private bathrooms, a festival T-shirt and drink and food tickets. Proceeds from the event will help the foundation to bring in blues bands throughout the year to Tucson venues. The event gives music fans the chance to hear everything from Delta Blues to styles that intermix blues and other genres. Gary Bagnoche, president of the Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation, says the organization tries to promote
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blues music locally. Bagnoche says Tucson has a tight-knit and dedicated blues community. “There is a pretty active and energized blues community in Tucson,” Bagnoche says. “I think we have an energized and dedicated blues audience in Tucson.” The foundation is made up of blues music aficionados from different backgrounds, including musicians, talent agents and fans. Bagnoche has listened to blues music for most of his life. “Personally, I got exposed to blues when I was in Mississippi, when I was in the Navy, at a naval air station back in the early ’70s. I heard some Delta Blues and thought, ‘OK, I’m hooked,’” Bagnoche says. This year’s headliner is Castro “Mr. Sipp” Coleman, a blues and gospel guitar player from Mississippi. Coleman has won major honors such as the Spirit of Little Walter, Bobby Rush Entertainer of the Year and Jackson Music awards. The singer, who has released three blues albums, started
(Photo courtesy of Southern Arizona Blues Heritage Foundation)
out in gospel and transitioned to blues in 2012. The festival will also spotlight other local and out-of-state blues artists and groups, including Texas-based band Black Joe Lewis and the Honeybears and California-based artist Casey Hensley. Lewis—a blues, funk and soul artist— was born in Tucson and started his group in Austin. Blues fans can also support some of their favorite local Tucson groups, including The Coolers, Black Cat Bones and the Cholla Rhythm and Blues Band. Founded by Jeff Daniels and Charles Pitts in 2004, Black Cat Bones regularly plays at different venues in Tucson, Oro Valley, Phoenix and Bisbee. During the festival, the group will perform originals and covers by B.B. King, Roy Buchanan and Otis Rush. Daniels says his favorite gigs are those where listeners are engaged with the music, such as blues festivals. “That is just one of the best feelings that you can have as a musician, when you are getting feedback from an audience that is vibing on your music. That is the ultimate goal as a musician,” Daniels says. The group sticks mainly to blues, but mixes in jazz and soul. On its latest album, “Tattered and Torn,” the band used acoustic guitars and a horn section, and featured local musicians. Daniels says artists within the Tucson music scene know and support each other. “There’s a good camaraderie among the artists in Tucson,” Daniels says. Black Cat Bones drummer Bill Greenberg, an English teacher at Cholla High School, also serves as faculty adviser for the Cholla Rhythm and Blues Band and a board member for the Southern Arizona
Blues Heritage Foundation. Greenberg says the foundation is trying to encourage a love of blues music among young people. The foundation also puts on a special showcase for youth blues players in November, and headliners from the March festival often host master classes with high school students. The Cholla High School student group, which has been around for 10 years, performs at school and community events. It has done the Brews and Blues Festival on and off since 2013. Greenberg says the festival gives students a chance to meet with professional blues artists and see their teacher perform live. His students see the importance of lessons he is teaching them, such as keeping time. “They get to watch me do it. It helps them to see that when I talk to them, what I’m telling them to do is what I’m trying to do myself constantly,” Greenberg says. Greenberg says students benefit academically and personally, as it gives them a sense of belonging. “They love hanging out together and playing music together. It’s fun for them. It gives them something positive to do when they’re not sitting in a classroom,” Greenberg says.
MORE INFO
What: Blues and Brews Festival When: 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. Saturday, March 28 Where: DeMeester Outdoor Performance Center, Gene C. Reid Park, 900 S. Randolph Way Cost: $22 online and $25 at the gate for general admission, $100 for VIP tickets, children 12 and younger free Info: azblues.org www.LovinLife.com
